Sancti Thomae - Opera Omnia - 1740

THE SAINT OF THE POOR: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF VALENCIA
FIRST VENETIAN EDITION
A prestigious seven-teenth-century collection of the writings of Saint Thomas of Villanova, famous Augustinian preacher and archbishop of Valencia, who went down in history for his extraordinary charity toward the poor. Published in Venice in 1740, this monumental large-format edition preserves the spiritual and theological thought of one of the protagonists of the Spanish Catholic Reformation. Enriched by an engraved frontispiece by Pietro Monaco, it presents an elegant frontispiece in red and black and a rich typographic composition. Of particular interest is the conventual provenance documented by ancient manuscript notes.

ABSTRACT
Important first Venetian edition of the Opera Omnia of Saint Thomas of Villanova, born Tomás García Martínez (circa 1488–1555), published in 1740 at the Venetian printing house of Santo Pecori. The work gathers the writings then known of the celebrated theologian, preacher and archbishop of Valencia, a central figure of Augustinian spirituality and the Spanish religious renewal of the sixteenth century. The volume preserves a broad corpus of sermons, theological reflections and moral teachings devoted to faith, Christian life, penance, charity and the salvation of the soul. Particularly significant is the role attributed to preaching as a tool of religious education and spiritual transformation. The edition is distinguished by Latin text laid out on one or two columns, marginal annotations, the red and black frontispiece and the fine copper-engraved frontispiece with the portrait of the saint, engraved by Pietro Monaco. The presence of an ancient possession and donation note attributable to a Dominican friar of Reggio adds an interesting element of the book’s history, documenting its circulation in an Italian ecclesiastical milieu.

WHY TO BUY
A work of particular interest for collectors of ancient religious books, Catholic theology, Augustinian spirituality and great collections of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century sermons. The first Venetian edition of 1740 brings together in a single volume the writings then available of Saint Thomas of Villanova, one of the most important representatives of Spanish Catholic preaching in the sixteenth century. The large format, the figurative frontispiece signed by Pietro Monaco and the red-and-black frontispiece confer upon the publication a considerable bibliographic and decorative value. Another point of interest is the binding in rigid parchment with handwritten title on the spine and sprinkled edges, typical features of eighteenth-century ecclesiastical libraries. The provenance annotations, referring to Fra Domenico Maffei and the Convent of San Domenico in Reggio, constitute material testimony to the book’s circulation within religious circles. The work also offers an important source for the study of preaching, charity and social sensibility in the sixteenth-century Church. A volume suitable for specialized collections on ecclesiastical history, hagiography, Spanish culture and Christian spirituality.

MARKET VALUE
The first Venetian edition of the Opera Omnia of 1740 represents a specialist collectibles market, supported by the author’s importance, the iconographic apparatus and the quality of eighteenth-century Venetian religious editions. Considering the condition of the described exemplar, with small parchment tears, beetle holes and some letters affected by the galleries, a indicative commercial valuation is estimated between 500 and 700 euros. The preserved frontispiece and the manuscript provenance notes are favorable factors.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Binding in full rigid parchment with raised nerves and handwritten title on the spine; sprinkled edges. Latin text arranged alternately in one or two columns, with glosses and marginal references. Frontispiece printed in red and black, enriched with typographic ornaments. Copper-engraved frontispiece by Pietro Monaco, depicting Saint Thomas of Villanova. Additional ornamental engraving at the beginning of the numbered section. Decorated initials and tailpieces. On the recto of the front free endpaper appears a partly legible handwritten donation note: “F. Domenico Maffei president in S. Domenico di Reggio quae dono dedit librum hunc Fr. Domenico...”. Binding with signs of use and aging, evidence of beetle damage extinct. In old books with a centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing includes AI Visuals. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. The images are an integral part of the description. Collation: (10) preliminary pages; XXXVII pages numbered in Roman numerals; (2) unnumbered pages; 866 numbered columns, corresponding to 433 pages printed in two columns; (26) unnumbered final pages.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Sancti Thomae a Villanova.
Opera Omnia.
Venetiis, Excudebat Sanctes Pecori, 1740.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Saint Thomas of Villanova was one of the most representative figures of the Catholic spiritual renewal in Spain in the sixteenth century, a period marked by the need to strengthen clerical formation, improve care for the poor and promote a more Evangelical religious life. His work unfolded in a context preceding and contemporaneous with the Council of Trent, when the Catholic Church faced profound spiritual and institutional transformations. Entered in the Order of the Hermit Augustinians, Thomas developed a spirituality based on prayer, humility, preaching and above all the concrete exercise of charity. Nominated archbishop of Valencia in 1544, he dedicated a considerable portion of ecclesiastical resources to helping the indigent, orphans and people in distress, earning the fame of “father of the poor.” His sermons represent an important testimony of Catholic spirituality in Renaissance Spain. In his discourses theological reflection is frequently joined to moral exhortation, with particular attention to the responsibility of the rich toward the needy, the value of almsgiving, personal conversion and the dignity of the human being. His teaching fits within the Augustinian tradition, which assigns a fundamental role to divine grace, inner transformation and love for God and neighbor. The collection of Opera Omnia thus preserves a value that goes beyond strictly religious spheres, offering testimony of social culture, preaching and moral sensibility in sixteenth-century Catholic Europe.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Tomás García Martínez, known as Saint Thomas of Villanova, was born around 1488 in Fuenllana, Castile, Spain, and died in Valencia on 8 September 1555. From a wealthy family, he received a solid humanistic and theological education at the University of Alcalá de Henares, one of the main cultural centers of Renaissance Spain. In 1516 he joined the Order of the Hermit Augustinians in Salamanca and in 1518 was ordained a priest. Thanks to his intellectual and spiritual abilities, he held important positions in the Order, distinguishing himself as a preacher, religious superior and formator. In 1544 he was named archbishop of Valencia, an office he accepted reluctantly and exercised until his death. During his episcopate he promoted clerical formation, the reform of ecclesiastical discipline and numerous charitable initiatives. His fame came mainly from his extraordinary generosity toward the poor, to whom he allocated a significant portion of the revenues of the archdiocese. He was particularly attentive to abandoned children, the sick and needy families, promoting organized forms of assistance and support. His sermons, characterized by doctrinal depth and expressive vigor, were widely disseminated even after his death. Beatified by Pope Paul V in 1618, he was canonized by Pope Alexander VII in 1658. He is remembered as one of the greatest saints of the Augustinian tradition and as a model of pastoral charity in the Catholic Church.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The writings and sermons of Saint Thomas of Villanova began to circulate after his death through manuscript collections and later printed editions, contributing to the spread of his reputation as preacher and spiritual guide. In the course of the seventeenth century, collections of his works were published, often organized into volumes of sermons and religious discourses, which enjoyed wide circulation among Augustinian circles and European ecclesiastical libraries. His canonization in 1658 further heightened interest in preserving and publishing his writings. The Venetian edition of 1740, printed by Santo Pecori, presents itself as Editio prima Veneta, i.e., the first Venetian edition, and not as the first overall publication of the author’s works. The title Opera Omnia quae hactenus reperiri potuerunt emphasizes the intention to collect all writings then available, following a formula commonly used in the great theological collections of the modern era. The volume is distinguished by its large format, complex column numbering and the presence of a notably interesting decorative apparatus. The frontispiece engraved by Pietro Monaco, an artist active in eighteenth-century Venice, constitutes a significant element of eighteenth-century copper-engraved religious production. The use of red and black in the frontispiece lends solemnity to the publication, while the typographic organization in double columns allows a substantial amount of text to be concentrated in a single large volume. The exact original print run is not documented with certainty. The provenance annotations in the offered exemplar confirm the function of these publications as tools for study, preaching and religious formation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
The first Venetian edition of the Opera Omnia of 1740 represents a significant testimony to the diffusion of Saint Thomas of Villanova’s writings in eighteenth-century Catholic Europe. The volume is of particular interest for the history of the Augustinian Order, Renaissance Spanish preaching and Catholic Reform spirituality. The collection documents the fortune of the saint’s works nearly two centuries after his death and about eighty years after his canonization. The frontispiece engraved by Pietro Monaco constitutes a distinctive bibliographic and artistic element, while the red and black frontispiece and the wide column-numbering attest to the characteristics of the great Venetian theological editions. Of further interest are the old ownership and donation annotations, which allow linking the exemplar to the history of Italian religious libraries and to the conventual circulation of books in the eighteenth century. The edition is documented in the historical catalogs of European libraries, confirming its importance in the editorial tradition of Augustinian works.